Justin Menza

More

The deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was a "missed opportunity" but politicians shouldn't use the debt ceiling to force greater spending cuts and entitlement reform, Erskine Bowles, co-chair of President Barack Obama's 2010 debt commission, told CNBC on Friday.

Ending the Fed's massive stimulus program will depend on improvement in the economy, not a specific date, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC Friday. Bullard, known as one of the more hawkish Fed members, was responding to the sharp reaction in financial markets Thursday over the Fed's statement that some members wanted to end the bond-buying program this year.

Although minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed growing concern among members about the central bank's bond-buying program, Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius told CNBC he expects quantitative easing to continue well into 2014.

While most observers said Congress's last-minute agreement was the main driver behind the global rally, some pros think it had more to do with new money coming into the market and prospects for more central bank easing.